Goodbye, halcyon days
by Peachvodka
Summary: Short view into Ulquiorra/Orihime relationship during her stay at Las Noches. There could be spoilers.


**A/N: I'm not usually into het stories, but Bleach has a certain charm about it. IF YOU AREN'T UP TO MANGA THERE MAY BE SPOILERS. I warned you. On a light side I strongly recommend to listen to Goodbye, beautiful day by Aviatic to this. I hope you'll enjoy. Also, if you happen to spot any mistake, write me and I'll correct it, although this is beta'd.  
**

**Goodbye, halcyon days**

As she watched him dissolve into ashes, his last question to her still dying in the crisp air of Hueco Mundo, Orihime knew nothing will ever be the same in her life. Her very view of the world had changed. She wasn't the naïve little girl who needed saving anymore. Nor was she madly in love with Kurosaki Ichigo. Seeing him in his true Hollow form, anyone would feel afraid. Fear doesn't go well with any kind of love and somehow, Inoue's heart didn't skip a beat now, when she thought about her orange haired friend. She wasn't like Rukia, who just as Ishida, would've tried to stop him, no. She could only watch him as he went berserk on Ulquiorra, making the Espada take a step back. She knew him well enough to know he wa shocked when Ichigo fired that cero. And as she pondered more about this peculiar situation, she realized she didn't want any one of them to die.

* * *

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No." That was true. She never was – he never gave her any reason to do so. Even after she saw him in his second released form, Orihime could only feel something indescribable for him. She remembered how she tried to bring him to life with that slap. He was rude and touched a sensitive spot that much was true, but even when she slapped him, he did nothing. Not even his eyes had widened.

* * *

One time, after she woke up she found him sitting on the edge of her bed and almost squealed.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nobody disturbs me in your room." To this day, Orihime can not explain why or how did she manage to fall asleep with him so close again, but Ulquiorra never touched her, never hurt her and never frightened her. She started to think of herself going crazy after this episode.

* * *

The next time he came to visit her he spoke first. Putting the tray with food down he said:

"They think I'm fucking you." She was so shocked she could only stare at him. "Eat or I'll force-feed you," added Ulquiorra and left her alone again.

* * *

A few days later the shock worn out and she was able to look him in the eyes again. Next time she woke up she found him sleeping soundly on the other side of her bed. Almost stopping breathing entirely in fear of waking him up she tip-toed to him, crouched down beside him and simply watched, not daring to touch him. Even in his sleep the Arrancar looked miserable. Shadows played their game on his face and those "tear" marks… Orihime drew her breath in sharply, noticing for the first time that his nails and upper lip were genuinely black, not painted in any way. She supposed Ulquiorra would be horrified at the mere suggestion of such a human thing to do and she couldn't help but to chuckle softly at the image of him in front of a mirror with eyeliner. Her gaze softened slightly and she continued sitting on the cold and hard floor, wanting to touch him to know if… If what?

* * *

Ulquiorra never got to know she'd watched him sleep that time because when he woke up, she was in the bed with him again, only this time it considerably closer – too close to his comfort. When did they become so familiar with each other that he could fall asleep near her without any worries? He stood up and left, finding Nnoitra just outside the door, grinning widely.

"What about the state of your clothes, cuatra Espada?" Ulquiorra didn't deem him worthy of answering and simply continued down the corridor. "How come you can have fun with her and we can't?" But before could Nnoitra actually enter the obnoxious human girl's room, Ulquiorra was standing in the half opened door, looking quietly at the other Espada whose grin wasn't that wide anymore.

"You will not hurt her in any way."

"Protective, aren't we?" snarled Nnoitra at him. Ulquiorra shrugged lightly but otherwise didn't move an inch.

"Aizen-sama has ordered me to take care of the woman. It did not include borrowing her to you or Szayelapporo for your games." He watched the taller Arrancar retreat, all the while cursing quietly under his breath. Few seconds later he felt warmth enveloping him from behind and a very quiet "Thank you" could be heard before she let go of him again.

"It's my duty woman; don't think too much into it."

* * *

The next time he came to wake her up from a nightmare she pleaded him to stay with her. At first he wanted to refuse her, staring at her incredulously but then realized that there was a chance she'd be screaming again and if he was close to her he wouldn't have to go far to wake her up before others heard. So he nodded slowly, moving to sit on her bed.

"Sleep, woman," he said to her softly and waited until she fell asleep before he lied down, too. Before he could fall asleep himself, however, he felt her snuggling closer up to him, her scent enveloping him. He stiffened, not sure what was he supposed to do, but Orihime didn't seem to mind – if the smile displayed on her lips could be any indication to that. Slowly, gradually Ulquiorra relaxed and let her hug him. For more comfort he put his arm around her and when they finally settled, he couldn't help himself but to start moving his hand, exploring the curves of her soft back gently, tracing the line of her spine, painfully aware of how easy to break it would be. Orihime hadn't even stirred and Ulquiorra slowly drifted to sleep, too.

* * *

The first time she touched the hole in his chest was by accident. She tripped and somehow… Well. Both of them froze for a moment, the Arrancar because of the unwanted intimacy and Orihime because she knew she had just broken a taboo. Even Grimmjow looked terrified. When she stood up, Ulquiorra simply walked away with no other word and didn't visit her for a few days.

The second time wasn't an accident from her side. Orihime has long since realized she wanted to save him – if no other Espada could be spared and saved, she wanted to save Ulquiorra no matter what obstacle might get into her way. And thus, when his seemingly favorite question about the placement of her heart arrived, she stepped forward and with no hesitation whatsoever touched him inside his Hollow hole.

"Here," she said, looking him straight in the eyes. Ulquiorra's pupils dilated slightly and her left. Her food for that day had been brought by some other lesser Arrancar. She pondered asking Grimmjow or Hallibel about it for a second but then rejected that idea, deeming it non-profital anyway. They would just say a human could never understand such a thing and she should rather retreat to her room before someone eats her.

Third time it was Ulquiorra who came to her room and when seeing him, she rushed to apologize to him but he raised his hand, effectively silencing her.

"Woman, did you mean it?" Orihime knew right away what he meant with his question and stepped forward.

"Yes."

"Come here then." When she came close enough he grabbed her hand and placed it inside his Hollow hole. Orihime, shocked speechless, let him do whatever he pleased. Ulquiorra closed his eyes and guided her fingers inside the hole so they did the full circle. She couldn't help but felt surprised by the discovery that he also had skin there. When he opened his eyes again, their usual Technicolor green was even more vivid. Orihime shuddered.

"Does it… arouse you?"

"Yes. Touching another Arrancar inside his Hollow hole is a form of exerting a form of dominance over him – that's why we almost never do it." Orihime drew in a shaky breath and another full circle with her hand. Her captor's eyes closed in this act of intimacy and trust – she supposed it was like getting a dog show you his belly – she just for the life of her couldn't fathom why would someone as cold as Ulquiorra do something like _this_ with someone like _her._ His eyes were now opened, staring hungrily at her and her shaking hand trailed from his chest to his neck and then finally to one place she wanted to touch since he fell asleep the first time in her bed. She gingerly touched his lips, tracing the upper one with her thumb and suddenly he was kissing her, her back cracked against the stone wall and she knew she'd have a bump on her head in a few hours but all this seemed insignificant, nonexistent almost. His skin was smooth but hard, his hair wasn't soft but she didn't give a damn. Only one thing mattered and that was the fact that his skin was warm like hers and – even though it could've been only a fleeting illusion – for that moment he was only hers, not Aizen's, not anybody's but hers, giving her undivided attention she hasn't ever gotten before. A moan escaped her throat and he pressed even closer, almost suffocating her but if every death could feel this good she would want to die over and over again… Then there was a knock on Orihime's door and the magic bubble they were in burst and they broke apart, flustered, breathing heavily. Ulquiorra regained his composure first.

"Yes?"

"Aizen-sama hasn't yet received your report for today, Ulquiorra… I'm just making sure you won't forget," came a sly voice from behind the door. Without another glance at furiously blushing Orihime he left to respond to his master's wishes and left her alone, taking her heart with him.

* * *

Next day, when Kurosaki Ichigo finally arrived, all hell broke loose and nothing was ever the same.

**End. **


End file.
